There are two types of horror movies I’ve noticed: movies that actually scare
you (see my review of The Ring) and movies that
just gross you out. Occasionally a movie does both, but in the case of Ghost
Ship, it is the latter.

Ghost Ship is the story of an Italian ocean liner called the Antonia
Graza. In 1962, it experienced a series of graphically horrifying events that
led to the deaths of almost everyone on the ship and the abandonment of the
survivors. The ship was left in the middle of the Bering Sea. Forty years
later a salvage crew, led by Captain Sean Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) and salvage
team leader Maureen Epps (Julianna Marguiles), set out to check out the ship.
They become aware of the ship when Canadian Air Force Pilot Jack Ferriman
(Desmond Harrington) approached them with an offer. For twenty percent of
whatever they find, he'll tell them where the ship is, which is far from any of
the shipping lanes. They finally agree on ten percent with the stipulation of
him coming along. They head out to find the ship, and since it's in
international waters, anything they find will be entirely theirs to keep. The
rest of the crew of their salvage tugboat named the Arctic Warrior includes
First Mate Greer (Isaiah Washington), Dodge (Ron Eldard), Santos (Alex
Dimitriades), and Munder (Karl Urban.) When they reach the Antonia Graza, they
discover that it has many riches on it. That isn’t the only thing still on the
boat though. The ghosts of the passengers who disappeared along with the boat
are also aboard, and are still haunting it today. It's not long before Epps
thinks she sees a young girl in a party dress, Katie (Emily Browning), who seems
to be the only ghost not intending them harm. Greer becomes fascinated with a
sexy lounge singer named Francesca (Francesca Rettondini.) Murphy keeps seeing
the ship's Captain (Robert Ruggiero.) Aside from Katie, all the ghosts seem to
have an evil plan afoot for all the crew members. Once they finally realize
this, they then move quickly to try to get off the ship and save their lives.

This movie is not the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. Most of the intended
scares are predictable. There are also a few plot holes (which I can’t give
away because it would ruin the movie), but you will see them by the end of the
movie. Overall, this movie is a little hokey.

On the plus side, however, Ghost Ship is one of the most creatively gross
movies I’ve ever seen. It starts out very memorably. The movie begins looking
like a Disney movie. The bubbly music plays and the graphics are cutesy. In
fact, the title Ghost Ship is written in cursive pink letters. It pans
down to show a happy crowd of passengers aboard the Antonia Graza, dancing and
enjoying the music. Suddenly a steel wire comes loose and swings across the
crowd, slicing everyone in half like lunchmeat. Everyone gets this stunned look
on their face, then body parts start slowly falling down. You will definitely
find yourself saying, “Ewww!” That won’t be the last time in the movie that you
will make that expression.

I’m actually giving Ghost Ship a better than average rating, because the
gross special effects are fun for just the sake of escapism. The performances
are fine too (Marguiles might remind you of a cross between Linda Hamilton in
the Terminator movies and Sigourney Weaver in the Alien movies.)
This is director Steve Beck’s second movie for Dark Castle Entertainment (his
first one being last year’s Thirteen Ghosts.) They are a production
company devoted to remaking William Castle movies, or movies in the Castle vein
(the original 1952 Ghost Ship didn’t involve Castle.) In case you are
not aware of who William Castle is, rent the movie Matinee, a comedy
starring John Goodman that is loosely based on his life. He is a man who
praised style over substance. When you went to see a Castle movie, you saw a
movie with gruesome effects (heightened by stunts like shocking their seats and
having people dressed up as ghosts run around the theater.) He offered to sell
life insurance policies to moviegoers who might “die of fright.” Of the three
movies made for Dark Castle Entertainment (1999’s House on Haunted Hill
being the third one), I like Ghost Ship the best. I believe it takes on
the William Castle philosophy the best (minus the stunts of course.) Go and
check it out for the special effects, but don’t expect to be scared too much.
That’s what The Ring is for.